Despite unprecedented circumstances, the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive line passed one of its toughest tests of the season with flying colors in the team's Week 11 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
The unit, which has struggled all season to protect Geno Smith and pave the way for the Seahawks’ running backs, had two new pieces play their first games of the season: center Olu Oluwatimi and right tackle Abraham Lucas.
Oluwatimi took over for former starter Connor Williams, who retired for “personal reasons” after the team’s bye week. The 2023 fifth-round pick and former Rimington Trophy award winner was slated to be Seattle’s starter to begin the season before Williams was signed late in training camp on Aug. 11.
Lucas was the Seahawks’ full-time starter in 2022 as a rookie before missing all but six games last year due to a knee injury and offseason knee surgery. Now, despite being on a pitch count in Week 11, Lucas is back on the field.
After the game, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith called the offensive line “the unsung heroes of the game” and singled out the two new starters up front.
“[Oluwatimi], how much he’s battled, right? He battled all throughout camp, didn’t get the start and was asked to step in … I think that led to him stepping right in and playing a tremendous game,” Smith said. “For [Lucas], knowing how much he battled back from injury, he’s my locker mate, and talking to him every single day about how he’s feeling, where his mindset is at. He was locked in the entire time. I knew when he steps on the field, he’s a difference maker. He means a lot to this team, he means a lot to me as my right tackle. I was really happy to have him out there today.”
Lucas played 42 offensive snaps (70 percent of total), per Pro Football Reference, while Oluwatimi played all 60 snaps for the Seahawks. Smith was sacked four times, but Lucas only gave up one and Oluwatimi wasn’t credited with any sacks allowed, per Pro Football Focus.
Oluwatimi’s only minor hiccup was a high-and-wide snap to Smith’s left he wasn’t able to corral on Seattle’s second drive of the game. It effectively ended the drive, but the second-year pro was nearly perfect from there — posting a perfect pass-block win rate on 27 qualifying snaps, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson.
“I know we had the one snap that we mishandled, but it looked like Geno just missed it,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said. “The snap looked on target to me, but we’ll figure out what went wrong there. We gave a game ball to the whole offensive line. [Oluwatimi] went into Wednesday not knowing he’s starting. That says a lot about him and his preparation. He deserves a lot of credit.”
Lucas had reached his targeted amount of snaps before Seattle’s fourth-quarter game-winning drive. He admitted after the game he was relieved the game was over when Smith scampered in for a 13-yard game-winning score to seal the contest in the Seahawks’ favor. Lucas hadn’t played in an NFL game since Dec. 31, 2023.
“I can tell you for the last probably five or six plays I was breathing very heavy,” he added. “It’s been almost a year since I’ve played, right? When Geno took off and I knew he was going to score, I said ‘Thank you, Jesus’ then turned and walked towards the sidelines. I needed to go get some oxygen.”
Macdonald, overall, said he was pleased with the offensive line play after “people have been taking shots” at the unit during the season. Like Smith, Macdonald singled out Seattle’s right tackle and his ability to hold up in his first game after nearly a calendar year of recovery.
Regardless, the Seahawks should now have their full starting offensive line for the rest of the season, assuming all five can stay healthy. If they’re able to maintain the level of play they did Sunday, the first-half struggles and unusual, abrupt personnel losses could become a mere memory.
The Arizona Cardinals, Seattle’s next opponent, has a middle-of-the-pack pass rush, but it’s not going to get easier. San Francisco was without All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa for most of the second half in Sunday’s win, and that’s when the Seahawks offense was able to score both of their touchdowns.
Seattle still has to prove it can play against anyone, but the current unit should only continue to gel over time. The Seahawks have a chance to improve their NFC West positioning further in that game against the Cardinals.
